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The Doctors Became Patients of Covid-19

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by:
Maria F. Finazzo M.D.

As physicians, my husband Michael and I are accustomed to working with patients who are anxious and scared. However, we are not accustomed to being the patients feeling anxious and scared. But that is exactly how we felt when we both contracted COVID-19 last month. We are fortunate and have fully recovered.

When you experience something like this, you worry. You think about your family. You are concerned for those you may have unknowingly exposed to the virus. You are troubled that you have patients you are unable to see. Profoundly, you think about what you can do to help once/if you make it through.

In life there are so many things we take for granted. One being that medical professionals will have what they need, when they need it to care for others. Protective gear. Medicine. Blood products. I knew as soon as I was able that I would donate my plasma.

I was humbled to be the first convalescent plasma donor at SunCoast Blood Centers. The antibodies I developed to the COVID-19 virus will be used to treat a patient fighting for his or her life in a local hospital. This treatment shows great promise, and I want you to know the part SunCoast is playing to make it possible.

SunCoast has literally worked around the clock, seven days a week in this silent war. They immediately mobilized to coordinate with our hospitals to locate and recruit recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their plasma. This investigational new drug is showing great promise in the fight against COVID-19. As I donated, I watched their technicians around me working with other donors. Their compassion was reassuring, and their passion was inspiring. Behind the scenes their laboratory technicians work around the clock to manufacture this potentially lifesaving product. And, SunCoast Blood Centers is making this product available at no cost to our hospitals. This is all while their nurses are still in our hospitals performing therapeutic procedures for people who have other illnesses such as MS, sickle cell and bleeding disorders. Cancer patients and trauma victims are still getting the blood products they need to survive.

As physicians, we can’t do the work we do without vital resources such as SunCoast Blood Centers. So please, and especially now, offer your support by donating blood, platelets, plasma or make a financial contribution.